


Halloween Visit

by butterflycollective



Category: Matt Houston (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Family Secrets, Flashbacks, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:14:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26871241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/butterflycollective/pseuds/butterflycollective
Summary: Years after "Glimmer of Twilight" Matt, CJ and their brood celebrate Halloween with friends even as danger from the past intrudes on the present.
Relationships: Matt Houston/CJ Parsons
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

The pumpkins sat on the table waiting to be sculpted into something scarier with a paring knife. The day before Halloween had always been the time when the four children would spill into chairs around the dining room table and work on their Jack O Lanterns after returning home from school.

Gracie who at 14 was the oldest often oversaw their practice of this annual tradition when their parents were busy with work. Royal and Ethan who were several years younger than her would mostly start working on their pumpkins and then soon get distracted enough to chase each other through the house leaving her with most of the work.

Her younger sister Stephanie Rose who was almost three stayed with their mother working upstairs on a project in her office. She still worked in Houston but spent a few days a month working on a manual at home. Dad worked in Houston too but had been helping some businesses in the nearby town install new security systems after a rash of burglaries.

She watched her two brothers working diligently at least for now, as she pulled her thick dark curly hair back into a ponytail. Her clothes were after school simple, worn jeans and an even more worn chambray shirt on top of a jersey she wore because she spent so much time taking care of her animals in the barn. Her gelding Shadow, two calves for a club project and an assortment of others on days when she didn't have to stay after school for the honors club she'd been invited to join or volunteering in the library.

Her brothers played sports, little league baseball, football and ran around from sunrise to sunset and she had learned through the years to look out after them. Just as their parents looked out for them because she knew from a young age, they didn't live a normal life.

"I want to make mine a zombie…"

She glanced over at Ethan who rolled his eyes at his older brother Royal, both of them dark haired and full of mischief at the moment.

"No…mine's the zombie…yours can be the vampire."

Ethan just shrugged and picked up the knife, argument over. Then he glanced up at Gracie.

"So when's the party?"

She picked up a knife to start working on her pumpkin which hopefully by the time she finished it would resemble a clown. Gracie didn't much like scary things and her brothers knew better than to tease her about it.

"Tomorrow afternoon, like I told you," she said, "Chris and Dan are going to help set up."

Ethan and Royal looked at each other and then Royal looked back at her with a smirk.

"Danny's going to dress up as a werewolf?"

Gracie shrugged, still focusing on her pumpkin as she cut the crown off the top of it so she could scoop out the innards.

"That's what he said," she said, "unless he's changed his mind."

She figured he'd stick to his original plan because he'd been working on his costume for the past two weeks. Danny had been her best buddy since they'd both been too young to remember ever meeting. But they'd shared every class together at two different schools so far and both belonged to the honor society. Danny had gone out for junior high football and track, the training caused his lean frame to start filling out with muscle. She remembered her parents telling her that he'd been very ill as a baby and had needed surgery to fix his heart.

He looked perfectly fine right now; in fact he had started attracting the attention of other girls in their class. Gracie didn't pay any attention to that, being very busy with more important things than worrying about boys. She had friends from school and the neighborhood but still spent much of her free time with her animals taking care of them and Danny at least seemed to understand that about her.

"Who else is going to the party?"

Gracie shot a glance over at Ethan who had accidently given his vampire two mouths. Well, it just made it more unique she thought. Her clown had turned out quite elaborate with the eyes becoming shooting stars and the ears larger.

"Oh our friends," she said, "and maybe Butterfly will show us a movie when she shows up."

She hoped that the girl who had babysat her while she grew up would bring one of her vintage home-made zombie movies. Butterfly had just finished a fellowship shooting a documentary in Central America and would soon most likely start a new project something with their mother. She had tackled a lot of serious issues including drug dealing in high schools and poverty in countries like Guatemala and El Salvador. But she would be sticking around town for a while working on a film that would be paid for with grant money. Gracie didn't know much about it but her mother sounded excited when talking about it. Like she did when she was preparing her gelding for the gymkhana or one of her calves for a showing at the county fair.

In other words, whatever her mother did, it meant very much to her though Gracie didn't really know much about what she did only that she did some work for the government and had helped women and girls like herself.

The table wobbled as two young boys pushed their chairs away and took off running, leaving their pumpkins unfinished. Their attention spans clearly stretched to their limits. They ran out of the room and down the hallway and somewhere in the house Gracie heard one of the dogs bark. She sighed as she continued working on hers, thinking not for the first time that boys were so overrated.

With maybe an exception or two of course.

C.J. sat in front of her computer after having read the proposal that Butterfly had sent her for the film. She'd be landing in Houston International in an hour and heading to Chris' house to crash for a while before she'd start on her new project. C.J. had seen her documentaries, marveled how her style had grown as her films progressed, yet seeing the young girl's talent still prominent in her work.

She heard some noise downstairs which told her that her two sons were running around again. Gracie had them working on their pumpkins but she knew that they wouldn't stay interested in that for long. She gazed over at the floor where her youngest, Stephanie had fallen asleep surrounded by her stuffed frogs, having played herself into exhaustion.

The filming would start as soon as she compiled the scheduling of interviews that needed to be conducted and that hadn't proven to be easy so far. Many of the women hedged on whether they wanted to share their stories at all with the camera as an audience. A couple of them said they wanted to think about it more carefully and then get back with her. She just nodded and said that'd be perfectly okay, understanding where they were coming from.

After all, she had been in that same position herself.

She rubbed her forehead, her eyes no longer catching the silvery lines which wove a criss cross pattern across her fingers, etching into her palms. Many of the women bore their own scars and like her, some were more visible than others. But this project meant a lot to her and once she had sold it to Simon and several of the representatives from ICE, she'd been given a green light to go through with it. Matt and Dan had agreed to help her with the sound equipment and lighting.

The phone rang suddenly and she reached for it, seeing it was Rhonda, her friend who lived with her husband and three children up just outside of Dallas.

"Hi there…."

"Happy Halloween," Rhonda said, "Although officially that's not until tomorrow…I've been busy setting up for the party at the community center."

C.J. remembered that Rhonda had partnered up some time back with Alex Walker to start a battered woman's shelter which had been expanded to include children.

"Sounds like you're busy," she said, "We're holding a smaller party here with the neighborhood kids."

"Sounds like fun….Listen I called because Jonathan got back from Miami and found out more information about that book that's being released."

C.J. sighed.

"You mean the one that Scott wrote while he was in prison."

"Yes…now that he's out on parole, he's searching for a publisher."

C.J. leaned back in her chair, feeling the tension in her neck triggering a headache. She'd been stunned along with Matt to learn a few months ago that Scott had made parole and would be released from the federal penitentiary outside of Miami and into a halfway house. After spending less than 10 years in the slammer on convictions for conspiracy and the commission of other crimes against her and other individuals…the reasoning being that he didn't have a previous criminal record.

"For his book…the one where he's the wronged person being scapegoated for an entire human trafficking ring…"

Rhonda paused.

"I thought it was against the law for him to publish his book."

C.J. ran a hand through her hair.

"It is…under the Son of Sam law but there must be a loophole somewhere he can exploit."

Rhonda paused again.

"So what are you going to do?"

C.J. had thought about that a lot lately since she had heard the news.

"I'm going to live my life…just like I've been living it," she said, "I'm not giving anything more to him than he's already taken."

Suddenly she heard someone in the hallway and then stepping into the doorway. She looked over and saw Matt standing there still dressed in his business suit. Stephanie began to squirm awake and he went over to pick her up and hoist her over his shoulder while she rubbed her eyes looking around the room.

"Listen Houston just got in…I'll talk to you later," she said, "Say hi to everyone for me…"

She hung up the phone and got up to where Matt had sat on the lounge chair with their daughter who grabbed hold of his neck with her hands. The resemblance between the two of them, the dark short hair, their eyes and his mouth…she was definitely her father's daughter already. When she settled next to him, he reached to kiss her softly on the mouth, brushing a strand of her hair away.

"Missed you…."

She smiled at one of his favorite catch phrases and as he wrapped an arm around her, she settled against him.

"Yeah, so how was your day?"

Stephanie began tugging at his ear so he sat her down on his lap.

"I worked on the schematic for the security system at the bank," he said, "Have to meet with the board when it's done."

"It's so nice having you work here," she said, "I'm glad it's going well."

"How were the kids," he said, "I saw Gracie down there trying to finish three jack o lanterns."

C.J. rubbed her forehead.

"I told her that she didn't have to do the boys," she said, "It's their responsibility to handle their own Halloween decorations."

"You know Gracie…she wants everything to work out for the party tomorrow."

C.J. knew that her eldest daughter had a perfectionist streak in her that matched her own before she tempered it a bit. For now, Gracie tackled everything with that same intensity.

"She reminds me a lot of you, you know."

Yes she did, because sometimes she looked at the little girl who had grown into a lanky teenager and saw herself at her age. She had been more into her schooling and her work on the ranch than in spending time with boys and at parties. Except for the fact that her best friend had been a boy. But then Gracie had been best friends with Danny since before either could remember.

"She's more driven than I was at that age," C.J. said, "You know she wants to be a vet."

"She'd be very good at it," he said, "She loves animals…"

C.J. nodded.

"I know that but I want her to have fun too…you only get to be this young once."

Matt felt Stephanie squirm against him.

"Yeah but she's good at doing both," he said, "better than I was at her age."

Ethan rushed into the room, his face animated.

"Dad….Royal's not doing his share of the chores…"

Matt looked at C.J. and the both of them just smiled at each other as they got up off the chair, Stephanie still holding tightly onto her father. Definitely another normal evening in their household, they thought as they walked downstairs.

Gracie sat on the living room floor, with her computer and an essay she had to finish up for school. Royal and Ethan were outside still playing with the dogs after finally finishing up their jack o lanterns. Matt had helped them stick candles inside their cavities and light them up before placing them on the front porch outside. The sun had already set and the lights cast shadows in the darkness. Animal noises could be heard in the brush and occasionally from inside the barn.

She'd check her animals before heading off to bed but she had to get most of this essay finished by tomorrow's history class. First she had to go into the kitchen to get herself some juice from the refrigerator. Her parents were standing in the kitchen by the sink, washing and rinsing the dishes before settling them to dry on the nearby rack. Something they often liked to do after dinner together which Gracie considered to be a bit strange but then there were things about adults she didn't understand.

"We could try to get an injunction on the book."

C.J. turned off the water tap.

"It won't stop it from getting published," she said, "it'll just keep the profits from going to him."

Matt sighed.

"So Scott's going to donate it to some foundation to circumvent the law?"

C.J. shrugged.

"Apparently…Houston…I can deal with the book's release," she said, "We both can…I don't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that we're so worried about what he's writing that we'll try to stop him."

Matt placed another dish on the rack.

"Neither do I but there must be something we can do."

She shook her head.

"I don't really want to discuss it now," she said, "Like I said, I'm not giving him anymore of my life."

Gracie stood by the doorway listening to them, rather than walking to the refrigerator. She heard what sounded like anger in her mother's voice, mixed with other emotions she couldn't quite figure out. Her father on the other hand, just looked concerned, like he did when something happened to them like when Royal fell out of the tree house when he was seven. Suddenly her mother looked at her.

"Gracie, you okay?"

She nodded, looking at both of them.

"Fine…just working on my essay and came in here for some juice..."

She moved past them to get a glass out of the cabinet and then to get the juice out of the refrigerator. After pouring it into the glass, she sipped it thoughtfully.

"What were you talking about," she asked, "what's this about a book?"

Matt and C.J. looked at each other, and Gracie knew they were working on an answer for her. Grownups did that sometimes when they didn't want to talk about something.

"You can tell me," she said, "I'm not a kid."

C.J. smiled at her warmly. Matt stood beside her with one of his hands resting on her back.

"No you're not, but this isn't anything for you to worry about honey."

Gracie felt impatience prickling at her forehead.

"I'm not worried, I just want to know that's all," she said, "You talk about it a lot…lately."

Matt sighed.

"It's just a book a man's writing about something that happened…some years ago…before you were even born."

Gracie processed that piece of information. She knew her parents had secrets, all parents did or so Danny had told her. But then he had been reacting to finding out that he had needed surgery to save his life when he'd been just a baby. What she saw on her parents' faces when they thought no one was looking, that seemed different.

"What man…what happened?"

C.J. rubbed the bridge of her nose with her finger in a way that seemed familiar to Gracie. She often did the same herself when her parents asked her a question she didn't want to answer. Maybe that's why they had busted her more than once on something she had been trying to keep from them.

"Did he give you those scars…the ones on your hands?"

C.J.'s eyes widened slightly but Gracie had often wondered why her mother's hands had felt roughened in spots when she had touched or held her.

"No…no he didn't,"C.J. answered," Gracie…why are you asking these questions?"

Gracie sighed putting her glass down on the counter.

"Because I've known you longer than I remember and…sometimes I don't feel like I know you at all…"

"Gracie…"

But the younger girl just looked at her mother.

"Sometimes the way you look at each other….or react to certain things…like the girl in my school who no one can find…."

C.J.'s face softened.

"Gracie…whatever's going on….it has nothing to do with you…it's in the past."

Gracie rolled her eyes at her parents, her body tensing. But then they had tensed first and she didn't know why.

"Then why can't you tell me," she said, "I'm 14 now; I can handle it…whatever it is…I want to know the truth."

Her parents just looked at each other again and then at her, when suddenly they heard someone cry out. C.J. looked towards where the noise came from.

"I'll go check on her," she said, "Gracie; I know you're not a child anymore. You're growing into a young woman but some things…you're just still too young to hear them. When you're older…"

Gracie shut down when she heard those familiar words. They told her that the door had been closed and she wouldn't be getting answers to her questions. She folded her arms looking at her mother, mirroring her in so many ways but feeling so separate in others.

Including right now, she thought watching her mother leave to tend to Stephanie. Matt watched her go and then looked at Gracie rubbing his jaw line with his thumb.

"She'll tell you when she thinks you're ready," Matt said, "But part of it is that she needs to be ready herself."

"I'm old enough…."

Matt smiled.

"Then you're old enough to be patient," he said, "and let her take the lead on it."

Gracie knew there was no arguing with her father so she nodded and then went to pick up her glass of juice to take it back to the living room.

Grownups just made no sense most of the time.

But hours later, when the moon shone brightly on the clearing in front of the barn, she walked quickly to where Danny would be sitting on the corral fencing waiting for her. She had climbed out of her window, sliding down a tree next to the house to where she'd land on a patch of grass. From there, a short walk to the meeting place and since the house had appeared quiet when she left, no one to catch her meeting with her best friend.

Sure enough, Danny dressed like her in his jeans and a jersey was waiting for her. She climbed up on the fence to sit next to him looking out into the quiet darkness.

"God parents can be so clueless sometimes."

Danny looked at her, they sat close enough for their shoulders to brush.

"I know…I want a motorcycle and my parents said no."

She shrugged.

"Well motorcycles are dangerous and besides you have to be older to ride one."

"I already can…Logan taught me last summer by the lake."

Gracie nodded, remembering the guy who had been going out with Butterfly during the two months she had spent in town. He'd been working a summer construction job before heading back to graduate school at University of Texas El Paso in the fall.

"Still, he's just not wanting you to crash and get banged up."

Danny narrowed his eyes at her.

"Whose side are you on anyway?"

She flashed him a look of irritation.

"No one's…but it makes sense to be careful…not like in my case."

He leaned back enough so that the fence creaked, breaking the stillness.

"So what did your parents do?"

She didn't answer at first, not sure how to put it into words. The sense she had that she didn't know everything about her parents.

"Nothing…but I overheard them talking about some guy who wrote a book…someone they don't like…but when I asked about it, they wouldn't tell me anything."

"Maybe it's no big deal…my parents don't tell me everything that they ever did."

She sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"I know…but this is different," she said, "This is something major…and they won't say anything about it or what happened."

Danny paused for a long moment and Gracie knew he was thinking hard about what she had said. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"What…Danny do you know anything about it?"

He didn't say anything at first, just looked out across the clearing into the thread of trees.

"I was going through my dad's desk once looking for some scotch tape," Danny said, "and I found a folder of clippings that fell out…including one where a car bomb blew up in your dad's office building."

Gracie looked puzzled.

"You mean the one that Murray runs," she said, "or he did before his wife had triplets."

Danny nodded.

"Yeah well my dad was nearly killed when the bomb went off," she said, "but he wasn't the target…it was another man."

"Who…my father…"

"No your father said the FBI was investigating," Danny said, "the target was a man walking with that fed Jonathan."

Gracie nodded, knowing him all of her life and Rhonda and the kids.

"So who was this man…the one that was supposed to die?"

Danny paused, clearing his throat.

"Some shady lawyer…Scott…I don't remember his last name."

Gracie took a deep breath looking at him.

"I think that's his name," she said, "I heard my dad mention him just tonight. He must be the guy who wrote the book."

"Maybe…you looking forward to the party tomorrow?"

She just looked at him incredulously.

"Danny…I've got to find out what's going on with my parents and what they're hiding from me," she said, "Will you help me?"

He looked at her startled.

"Gracie…"

"Look…you just said someone tried to blow this guy up and your father was the one nearly killed," she said, "Don't you want to find out why…and who did it? If it were my father…"

Danny tilted his head.

"Hey my father's alive and so is yours," he said, "That's what matters…not what could have happened in the past."

She shook her head at him, her thick ponytail moving.

"It does matter because whatever it was…I see it on their faces," she said, "Like tonight…and that's not the only time."

He sighed impatiently.

"Maybe they don't want you to know Gracie," he said, "Maybe you're not meant to know and if not, they must have their reasons."

"Like what…what could possibly be a good enough reason?"

He just looked at her uncertainty in his eyes.

"I don't know…but there must be something."

She jumped off the corral fence landing softly on her feet.

"I don't care…I'm going to find out what happened," she said, "whether you help me or not."

Danny followed her down off the fence. They faced off together surrounded by peace and quiet.

"I didn't say I wouldn't help you," he said, "but let's do it tomorrow…before the party. It's getting late."

She nodded and they said goodbye before she started heading back to the house. The jack o lanterns still glowed on the front porch where she passed on the way to the tree by her window. As she climbed up it to her room, she tried to figure out a plan like her parents did when they worked on a case together back in L.A. where Great Uncle Roy still lived with his wife.

If her parents thought they could keep her in the dark like a little kid, they would soon find out how wrong they were about that.

C.J. lay in the darkness snuggling against Matt as the moonlight streamed through the window. His arm wrapped around her and pulling her closer to him as they both waited for sleep to take them. But C.J. couldn't get her mind off of her earlier conversation with her oldest daughter.

The one with so many questions all of a sudden about the past her mother had kept maybe not so much as hidden but apart from the rest of her life. After closing the book on that painful chapter of her life, she had been more than ready to move forward.

To raise her family without the past hanging over them like a shadow.

But she had born a daughter just like herself in terms of her determination and drive to find the truth in just about everything. Matt sensed the change within her.

"You okay?"

She nodded against him but finished her answer with words.

"Houston…I'm going to have to tell her…someday I mean."

He hesitated in his own response.

"I think you'll know what to say when you're ready."

She wished that were true. She'd been struggling long enough to find the right words already.

"I don't know…the truth's too awful…too ugly for a young girl. I know she's growing up and she's got a lot of questions but I still don't want her to see that part of the world."

Matt stroked her arm.

"I don't think you have to tell her all at once," he said, "but I do think you should start sharing it with her. There's ugliness there but there's a lot of good too including all the work you've done."

She considered that and knew the truth behind it.

"I know…and if Scott's book gets published, it'll be back in the news again."

She remembered all the press coverage that had been generated from the breakup of one of the world's largest human trafficking rings and the criminal prosecutions that had followed. She had felt during those tumultuous times that so much of her life had been placed under a microscope…when most of her life she'd done nothing to draw such attention to herself.

"We can tell her together if you'd like," he said, "Whatever part you decide to share."

She felt his arms tighten around her and she melded against him.

"Maybe I should do it…she already knows about my work," she said, "She's come to the office enough times when growing up…"

She just didn't know what had driven her mother to commit so much of her life to what she did helping other women who had been victimized in ways even worse than what she had faced.

"That might be a good way to start."

She nodded.

"Okay…I'll talk to her after the party tomorrow…after we clean up."

It grew silent between them not long after that even as she snuggled against him, feeling embraced by his warmth. Yes, there had been so much ugliness in what she had survived but Matt had been right about the blessings within the most traumatic time of her life.

The most wonderful of them had his arms wrapped around her, while his breath warmed her skin.

Outside where they slept, someone deposited a manila envelope in the mailbox before creeping away silently in the night.


	2. Chapter 2

She sat in the witness stand wearing her Sunday best, as if she were sitting in the pew of a church rather than testifying at one of the largest criminal trials. Only the clothing of her dress stretched a bit over her abdomen beneath where her hand rested during most of her testimony. She had been pregnant with Gracie at the time and married to her husband for about a week, so wanting to put this chapter behind her and move on with her life.

But first she had to tell her story through testimony to the federal jury.

The prosecutor walked up to her after having shown the jury one of the many exhibits from the trial. C.J. had watched the faces of the 12 men and women as she had often while on the witness stand but they betrayed no emotion. She had just talked about how she had argued with the defendant on the day she had been abducted from the parking garage of the office building in L.A. After telling that story so many times during the past couple of years she had distanced herself from it, but in the courtroom, it had all come rushing back to her.

Then the prosecutor had pulled out a photograph of Scott with a man that was from year earlier back in Boston when he and C.J. had been attending Harvard School of Law. The prosecutor had put it on the Elmo after showing it to the jury and calmly asked her the name of the man in the tuxedo with Scott.

"Andre Duval…"

She had remembered that party when she'd been wearing the blue dress with the skinny straps and her hair up off of her shoulders. Julia and she had gone to cut loose after midterm exams and had spent the evening dancing with men and talking with other guests.

But what C.J. hadn't known was that a man with dark hair and even darker eyes had been watching her.

The man in the photograph.

Several jurors jotted in their notepads after she identified Duval. The prosecutor had been building a case using various testimonies to tie Scott with Duval going from 10 years earlier to the present. It wouldn't be until the jury issued a verdict that C.J. and the prosecution would know how successful they had presented the conspiracy case. She looked out and saw Matt sitting in the audience with several friends of theirs watching while she testified against Matt's former college buddy.

"Judge and members of the jury let it be entered into the record that the witness has just identified the man in the photograph as Andre Duval."

The judge looked up at her.

"So noted in the record, continue."

C.J. listened to the prosecutor's next question but suddenly the courtroom hushed and the room darkened as if the sun had set outside its windows.

Then the double doors at the end of the aisle in the back of the courtroom opened, disturbing the quiet as they creaked and someone stepped inside.

A man in silhouette but she didn't need to see his features to know his name. Suddenly she was back in the room again, the one that had been her prison. His hands grabbing her before she could flee, his cologne overwhelming her as he pushed her against the wall.

She woke up with a start in her bed with her husband sleeping beside her, the sheet wrapped around his bare waist. Her heart beat quickly but she just closed her eyes and settled back against the mattress She didn't really have the nightmares much anymore but every once in a while her mind ventured back into the past.

Matt stirred next to her and opened his eyes looking at her.

"Good morning…."

She smiled at him and stroked his face, kissing him on the mouth, softly at first and then with more ardor. He slid his arms around her and pulled her on top of him.

"Good morning Houston…"

He smiled at her and their lips met again as she felt his hands caressing her back beneath her camisole.

Then a crashing noise interrupted them and a pair of feet running down the hallway. She sighed looking at him.

"The boys are up…."

Matt kissed her mouth again.

"I'll go start some breakfast," he said, "I've got a meeting this morning with the board at that bank but I'll be back this afternoon."

She nodded.

"I'm got some errands and the boys will be at football practice," she said, "Gracie's probably in the barn tending to her animals already."

Matt got out of bed and reached for his sweats, slipping them on while she watched admiring his body as she always did.

"I'll make sure she gets some breakfast."

C.J. watched him leave the bedroom while she went to check on Stephanie who was already standing on her bed jumping on it. She giggled and reached out her arms when she saw her mother who picked her up to take her down to the kitchen where Matt had already started breaking up eggs for omelets while Ethan and Royal were assigned the task of getting plates and silverware.

Ethan nearly dropped a couple plates on the floor but managed to keep hold of them while his brother started haphazardly putting the forks and knives on the table until Matt arched his brows. Royal adjusted them so they looked more orderly in the place settings.

"Where's your sister," Matt asked.

Royal shrugged but Ethan looked at his father.

"Out in the barn where else?"

Matt figured as much, that she'd be out tending to her animals, feeding them and maybe cleaning out a stall. So he left the house and headed on out to tell her that breakfast would be ready soon. He saw her sitting inside the barn next to Shadow's stall fiddling with the reins of his bridle while he ate alfalfa in his nosebag.

"Gracie…breakfast is just about ready."

She continued to fiddle with her bridle on her lap.

"Thanks…I just have to untangle this," she said, "It fell off the wall."

Matt watched his daughter's capable hands move diligently as she sorted out the tangled reins.

"Is mom ever going to answer my questions?"

Matt rubbed his jaw as she looked up at him then, her eyes watching him.

"Gracie…your mother loves you very much," he said, "She just wants what's best for you."

"I know that but I'm not a kid," she said, "not like the boys."

Matt smiled at the slight indignation in her voice and the set of her chin.

"I can see that and so can your mom but this is something she has to decide whether or not to tell you…and when."

Gracie pursed her lips in frustration. After all, she took after both parents in her inquisitiveness and her need to quench it through searching for the answers to her questions.

"It's really hard for her," he continued, "even years later."

She held onto the bridle as she got up on her feet to return it to its proper place.

"Years after what?"

Matt just gazed at his daughter for a moment.

"I'll tell you what…I'll talk with her about it and see if she'll share what she can but it's going to be her decision."

Gracie stared back at him and nodded, brushing her hands on her jeans.

"Okay…I guess the animals are fine," she said, "Did you make any of your Texas omelets?"

Matt smiled at her.

"You'll just have to go inside the house and see…"

Gracie left her bedroom and went to answer the door where Danny stood there dressed casually. She let him inside and they walked into the living room.

"You're wearing that tonight?"

He shook his head.

"You know I'm going as a werewolf…but for investigating, I went simple."

She nodded as they continued into the kitchen to get something to drink. Her mom was out doing errands with Stephanie and her father, out at that board meeting but later on her mom and Chris and a couple other friends would be setting up for the party. Her brothers would be gone most of the day thankfully, leaving just her and Danny to try to find out more information on what her parents wouldn't tell her.

"So what are wearing tonight?"

She looked at Danny and shrugged.

"I haven't decided yet. I'll think of something."

His brows arched.

"Gracie…it's Halloween today…you only have a few hours…are you sure you want to spend them poking around the house?"

She tilted her face.

"Look if you don't want to help me…"

"I didn't say that did I," Danny said, "so where do you want to start looking?"

Gracie thought about it as she sipped her drink.

"Maybe upstairs…"

Danny shook his head.

"Try the internet first," he said, "Hard to keep anything secret on it."

Gracie nodded at him and went to get her laptop from the living room, to boot it up. Although she surfed the web, mostly it was for anything related to animals like horses or cows or for school. Like her brothers, she didn't spend much time on computers preferring to spend time outdoors rather than cooped inside the house.

But Danny was considered by some at school to be a computer geek spending hours using computers when he wasn't taking them apart and rebuilding them.

She booted up her laptop and got connected to the wireless after sitting down on the couch with Danny.

"Google them…"

She looked at him, her eyes narrowed.

"My parents…?"

He nodded.

So she did that starting with her father and immediately got a list of sites including that set up for the investigations and security firm he ran with Danny's father. Not to mention Houston Enterprises and his investigative firm in L.A. that she had heard mostly about through stories by her parents. Her father had won many awards for his work and had belonged to several associations including those involving various charities.

Oh and People Magazine had voted him sexiest millionaire alive or something like that. She wrinkled her nose at the photos.

"How cheesy…"

She left those sites and clicked on the next page of results to see what she might find there. What she had discovered so far were things she had already known about Matt. Then she saw a link that looked like it was from the FBI so she clicked that one. Her eyes widened when she saw what looked like a press release, and on it was an old photograph of her father. He was standing next to her mother as if they were at a party.

Underneath the bold title, Wanted.

She looked over at Danny who shrugged so she read the smaller text underneath his photograph. Then she stopped.

"My dad kidnapped my mother?"

They both leaned closer to read the rest of it on the screen. Gracie's brows knit as she digested what unfolded in front of her through words.

"Why would he do that," she said, "This can't be right."

Danny shrugged again.

"He must have had a reason," he said, "it says it had something to do with your mother being a protected witness."

Gracie frowned.

"What kind of witness," she said, "I need to find out more about why the FBI went after my dad."

"Then do some other searches," Danny suggested, "like put in your mom's name."

Gracie did that and the sites that came up were associated with various universities and educational institutions where her mother had either lectured or contributed teaching materials.

Some of the cases her mother had handled which had caught the attention of the media were featured too. The one where she had represented the girl who had been smuggling drugs for a cartel and another where young girls were locked up in juvenile detention centers by a judge who received kickbacks from politicians who served on the boards. But she had known about some of them while growing up.

Some references to human trafficking which she knew her mother had been involved in addressing through her work ever since she could remember.

"There's nothing here…."

But then she clicked on to another page and her eyes narrowed at the listings as she looked closer.

What she saw changed everything.

C.J. stopped at the grocery store to pick up some items for the party. Stephanie seemed happy enough sitting in the cart holding onto her worn stuffed frog. She walked down the aisles after she picked up some food in the produce section.

"Hey what you doing in here this morning…?"

She looked up and saw Sheila with her cart in the cereal section.

"I'm getting some food for the party tonight."

Sheila nodded.

"I should be over to help out after I get the rug rats sorted out."

C.J. smiled.

"How are they doing?"

"Nichole turned six and Ryder's four."

C.J. shook her head.

"Time really flies doesn't it?"

Sheila chuckled.

"Yeah it sure does," she said, "It seemed like yesterday Chuck and I got together…and how long have you been married?"

"Nearly 15 years…"

Sheila's eyes widened.

"So you two are old married folks…"

C.J. put some oatmeal in her cart.

"It seems like yesterday sometimes," she said, "but it's been much better than I ever thought it could be."

"Didn't know if you wanted to get married?"

C.J. smiled.

"No…I always knew I did even if I didn't know who'd it be," she said, "though I was hoping…"

She didn't need to finish her sentence.

"So how are the kids?"

C.J. smiled more widely.

"They're great….Gracie's mostly with her animals…the boys are both into sports and Stephanie here loves spending time in the office with her daddy."

Sheila sighed.

"So how's everything going," she said, "I heard that creep is writing a book."

C.J. rubbed her forehead. She figured Sheila would know about it because she'd been working with the feds before leaving the public sector and heading out on her own.

"Yeah…he's trying to get it published and Gracie's asking me questions about the past."

"Well you had to know she's going to be curious about it" Sheila said, "So what are you going to tell her?"

C.J. paused.

"I don't know….I know she's growing up but there's parts of the world I still want to protect her from…I know that I can't but I just want her to remain a child for a little longer…"

"Yeah I can relate," Sheila said, "I dread the day I have to sit down with Nichole and tell her about some of the cases I've handled…what I've seen out there."

"But you were out there doing great work and making a difference…."

"So were you…you're still out there working to change things," Sheila said, "in a very difficult world."

C.J. knew just how difficult it could be trying to make a dent in ridding the world of something so ugly as trafficking in human beings particularly women and girls in the sex trade. She thought of how she could explain what she did to her children but hadn't yet figured out a way and now with Gracie asking questions…. It wasn't just about the work she did, it was about the path she'd taken to get there…because that was such an integral part of her.

"I think Gracie's getting old enough to have some questions answered," Sheila said, "if not all of them."

C.J. readjusted Stephanie's frog so she wouldn't drop it. Like she'd done for Gracie when she'd been her age…back when she'd been a mother for the first time and trying to figure it all out…

Then again, Gracie experienced more in her young life than Stephanie had even if she didn't remember it years later.

"Yeah I know….I still have to find the words," C.J. said, "God, I wanted to spare my children from some of the worst…but I know I can't do that…they need to know about the good and the bad both."

"True…and Gracie's a smart girl who can handle a lot," Sheila said, "It might be better to tell her before she finds out somewhere else like on the internet."

C.J. sighed knowing that was likely what would happen if Gracie didn't receive answers to her questions. Like her parents, she had that burning need to find out the truth.

She nodded slowly.

"Yeah you're right," she said, "I think I need to start talking to her about it."

Gracie sat out by the pasture where Shadow grazed on what was left of the grass. She and Danny had made up some sandwiches and along with cola, had brought them outside to eat on a patch of ground next to the pasture. After reading through one article after the other, after she clicked the mouse on each link, she had to stop. What she had read on the screen overloaded her brain, articles about how her mother had been abducted one night from the building where she and Matt had worked. How she had escaped from some awful place and wound up living on the ranch where they had spent time during summers Thea, Jed, Bonnie and everyone else there.

She hadn't even been hiding there under her real name. She'd stopped after that point having learned too much in little more than an hour.

They had eaten their lunch quietly for a while. She didn't know what to say at this point because her mind still swam with everything she had learned about the woman who had born and raised her.

"You don't really know parents as well as you think…," she said finally to break the silence.

"I guess not…man all that stuff was going on," Danny said, "My parents were helping your father find her."

Gracie leaned back on her hands and looked out into the pasture where Shadow wandered, nose near the ground looking for anything edible.

"She must have been so scared all that time," she said, "and not able to show it like…"

Gracie sometimes thought she could remember a time when she'd known what it'd been like to feel intense fear and not show it but anything more than that eluded her.

"It's so different than what I expected," she said, "what it turned out to be."

Danny looked over at her.

"So what are you going to do?"

She pursed her lips.

"I'm going to tell her that I know…"

The two of them heard a car drive up and she knew it was one of her parents coming back from work to start getting ready for the party. She looked up and saw that Chris had arrived with Butterfly and Danny's younger brother and sister. They got up to go meet them.

Chris had a box of what looked like desserts in her hand while Butterfly toted some of her camera equipment.

"Hey Danny can you help me with this," she asked and he nodded.

Gracie watched as he picked up another box and they headed into the house. Chris smiled at Gracie as they both removed some more food from the car.

"I thought I'd make some recipes from our garden crops," Chris said, "and I brought over some burger fixings."

Gracie picked up some jugs of cider and they started walking into the house.

"Your mother still out…?"

Gracie nodded.

"She had a lot of errands," she said, "Stephanie's with her and the boys should be done with football camp soon."

Chris smiled.

"Well it looks like a good evening for a party," she said, "I love autumns here."

Gracie knew the air would get chilly but not until later on in the evening. The younger kids would do some trick or treating in the neighborhood before returning here for the telling of the ghost stories inside the barn. She was too old to go out for candy so she'd help set up the decorations inside the barn with Danny.

Matt drove his car with Dan riding shotgun on the road towards the ranch. The meeting with the bank's board had gone on much longer than anticipated and then they'd met up with some friends for lunch involving another assignment.

He'd been happy enough when it'd been time to break for the day and head back home for the Halloween party.

His wife had left a message that she had finished her errands and would be back home and that Chris had already arrived with her brood. He parked in the driveway and went up to get the mail before going into the house. The box had been loaded with it as it often was and much of it was bills or checks paid to them along with the usual assortment of junk mail.

But in the midst of it was an envelope and he looked at it curious. His hands soon opened it and he pulled out what looked to be a photograph.

An older one by the looks of it and when he saw what it was, his eyes widened in recognition…but what was it doing here?

Dan looked at him puzzled.

"What is it?"

Matt's mouth grew grim.

"It's someone new…."


	3. Chapter 3

Matt looked at the contents in the envelope carefully while Dan watched him in silence. He turned the photo of the familiar looking man over and looked for any writing on the back but found nothing.

On the front, the message sent was clear enough, someone wanted the man in the photograph to die.

"Looks like someone's pissed off at Scott enough to kill him…"

Matt looked at Dan and thought the list of people out to get the newly released ex-attorney and accountant had already grown pretty long but was this latest unidentified person a new addition?

Or someone who'd had an ax to grind against Scott for longer than that? He wasn't sure at this point or that it even mattered. He'd been on that list himself for so long until he couldn't ignore it any longer. Dan watched him carefully.

"Matt…this might be a threat against his life."

"Yeah could be…but why was it sent to me?"

Dan sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Because the person who sent it might have figured out that you hate him more than just about anyone else out there."

Matt remained silent unable to argue against that because for a long time it had been true…he had hated his former buddy from ever fiber inside of him.

"Not enough to kill him," he said, "Or maybe not enough to give up everything in my life."

Dan looked at the photo that Matt handed to him.

"We need to forward this to the feds," he said, "Scott's still under their surveillance while he's in the halfway house."

Matt nodded, remembering that Jonathan had explained that to C.J. and him.

"I don't know who sent it," he said, "It wasn't there when I checked the mail early last night so it could have been put in here anytime between then and now."

"It's not metered or posted so it must have been dropped off personally."

That caused Matt's musculature to tense at the idea that someone could have actually stopped by their ranch to plant it in their mailbox. It clearly wasn't a threat against him or his family but still it unnerved him.

"Yeah well there's not much clue about who sent it," Matt said, "but I'll give Jonathan a call about it."

Dan examined it more closely.

"There's a symbol in the corner of it," he said, "looks like an arachnid of some kind…a spider perhaps?"

Matt saw the small shape and he thought back to where he had heard about the spider being used as a marker for one of the other trafficking groups.

"It seems to me that another one of Andre's partners used the spider," Matt said, "I can't remember his name or where he was based but there were traffickers who were never caught."

Dan nodded.

"Yeah a couple big players from what I remember. It came out during some of the testimony at Scott's trial."

The ex-lawyer had been one of the few people involved to have his case make it to trial. Many of the defendants had pled out on lesser charges some in exchange for testimony and others who hadn't been caught slipped into the darkness of their trade and were never apprehended.

Others of course didn't survive to go to trial or to provide any statements to the feds, in these cases they merely turned up dead sometimes long after their killings. Matt had wished that Scott would die that way, to spare C.J. the ordeal of having to testify against him at trial about the role he played in her own nightmare. But he'd realized soon enough that a part of her needed to proceed to trial in order to start healing from her experience.

But even when Scott had been convicted on all charges and sentenced to federal prison in Miami, Matt still thought he'd been getting off too easy for what he'd done. And when he found out about his pending release…it took a lot out of him not to go after him and confront him.

Now someone out there had targeted him for death and had let Matt in on it because he or she thought that Matt hated him enough to want him dead even if it were murder.

"You know maybe if this had been five years ago…more or even less I would have thought about just ignoring this…tossing it in the trash but…"

Dan looked at him.

"You don't want to be party to someone else's murder," he said, "to serve as an accomplice to a crime even against a thug like Scott."

Matt looked down at the photo again.

"I felt like I wanted him dead for so long but then when I became a father…it changed…I don't feel that anymore. Oh I still hate him for what he did to C.J. but not enough to throw what I have away."

"Yeah having a family changes your perspective on a lot of things."

Matt nodded, knowing that when he'd looked at his newborn daughter, Gracie for the first time when she'd been born. While Cattle Annie had handed the squirming baby to C.J. after delivering her, everything had changed for him. But even before that, the seeds had been planted when he and C.J. took those first bold steps together as a couple who would share so much.

"Sure does…I promised myself when Gracie was born that I'd put all this anger I felt behind me and move forward…with C.J. to raise our kids together. And that's what we've done…I love my family more than anything…."

Dan slapped his shoulder.

"Then you know what you need to do," he said, "and that's give Jonathan a call and he can forward the information to the appropriate authorities."

Matt nodded, smiling grimly as the two of them headed into the house.

C.J. sliced the carrots for the salad while Chris had supervised the setting up of the barbecue to cook the hamburgers outside. Matt had made some chili which could be warmed up easily and served on top of the burgers once they got off the grill. Gracie had been in and out helping find enough paper cups and plates to feed all the people that would be dropping by for dinner before going trick or treating.

The boys had returned and were helping to set up the tables outside though Ethan had rolled his eyes at Royal who he claimed had been acting too bossy. Butterfly had arrived wearing a cat's outfit and had helped with dressing Stephanie into her frog princess outfit after she had woken up from her nap.

Soon more guests would be arriving and she looked up to see Matt and Dan walking into the kitchen to help out with the barbecue out back. She just smiled at them.

"All ready to go out there," she said, "the boys are setting up the tables and Danny's going to help you."

C.J. read something on her husband's face and looked at him for a moment but he just nodded and went outside carrying enough beef to feed an entire town if need be. Butterfly walked in carrying Stephanie in her arms followed by Chris who sat down in a chair.

"I'll take her," she offered.

C.J. smiled as Butterfly handed off her daughter to Chris who sat her in her lap.

"Annie's here," Chris said, "She's out telling stories to the kids out back and she's got their undivided attention."

C.J. tossed some salad while Butterfly helped her get the dressing bottles.

"She's got an amazing ability to hold anyone's attention," she said, "including a baby that's just been born."

"She delivered Matt and both of his daughters," Chris said, "and she's still active at the clinic in town."

C.J. put the salad aside.

"Yeah she has…and the new pediatric wing of the hospital in Houston that she and the Houston Foundation built last year."

"It'll be opening soon won't it?"

C.J. nodded.

"Early next year…."

Matt stood by the barbecue outside while adults and children wearing various costumes wandered around the food tables. Dan walked up to him.

"Did you call him?"

"I did and got his voice mail so I left the message."

"You tell C.J. yet?"

"I'll tell her after the party," he said, "She's been pretty busy dealing with Gracie's questions."

Dan nodded.

"Ah, the ones about what happened to her," he said, "I think my son's been helping her investigation."

Matt arched his eyebrows.

"Investigation…?"

"Your daughter has a lot of questions Matt," Dan said, "and when Scott's book gets published and the media picks up on it, she'll have more."

Matt rubbed his forehead with a finger.

"I know…C.J. and I have talked about that…a lot lately," he said, "how to start telling her about what happened but where to start."

Dan shrugged.

"She's a smart girl but it's better that she hear it from you than get her information online or on television."

Matt opened up a bottle of beer and sipped on it.

"Yeah…"

Butterfly walked out carrying her camera to take some video no doubt and sure enough, she started aiming it around the area where they had set up for the party. More guests began to arrive from the neighborhood, many kids in costumes of different kinds. As soon as they saw the corral fencing, they wanted to climb all over it where Royal and Ethan were playing.

Matt got started on the burgers and C.J. walked out carrying some salad fixings to put on the table next to the plates and plastic silverware. Chris and Butterfly had decorated the tables along with help from Danny and Gracie but then the two teenagers had disappeared. Not that it was any great mystery because with Gracie at least, C.J. knew that most likely she had retreated into the barn to check on her animals.

Her husband walked up to her as everyone began to line up at the barbecue.

"Where are Gracie and Danny?"

She smiled at him.

"They're in the barn…at least Gracie's there…"

"Alone or with Danny?"

C.J. rolled her eyes at him.

"Houston, they're just friends like we were at that age."

He sighed running his hand through his hair.

"If you knew some of the thoughts I had at that age…about a certain best friend…"

Her cheeks flushed a bit at that and she held up her hand, smiling.

"Okay…I'll go tell her or them that it's dinner time right now."

So C.J. walked over to the barn where she knew she'd find her oldest child waiting there with her animals, waiting for answers that only she could give.

The barn looked quiet, the animals settled down after having been fed and C.J. walked down to the end stall near the tack room where she knew Gracie would be talking to Shadow.

Sure enough, she heard her soft voice and saw her standing with the gelding brushing his nose against her shoulder while she stroked his neck. Gracie heard her mother's footsteps and looked up at her.

C.J. smiled and stood beside her, patting Shadow who neighed contently.

"How's he doing in the ring?"

Gracie shrugged.

"He's cutting his corners a little loose but he'll work it out."

C.J. nodded.

"Maybe a little longer rein on the left?"

"Yeah….I've been trying that and it's helped."

C.J. stroked the gelding reminded again of how much her daughter reminded her of herself when she had been the same age. She hadn't had parents to raise her but she had also been buried in her school work when she hadn't been spending time with the animals on the ranch.

"What was it like…?"

The first question caught C.J. a little off guard and she saw back when Gracie had been a baby born during a storm. The first time she'd laid eyes on her daughter, after Annie had placed her in her arms, the first time they had looked at each other.

She never forgot that moment, even though the baby had grown into a teenage girl who would someday be a young woman out making her way in a world. Exciting opportunities lay ahead for her but within them, dangers too, as she discovered in her own life.

Shadow rubbed his nose against her neck while she thought of how to answer. Gracie didn't press the issue, she just waited.

"I don't know if I can put the whole experience in a few words," C.J. said, "God it was so many different things…most of them difficult but we got through it. That's what matters Gracie."

Her daughter tilted her head in that familiar way.

"Okay but what happened," she said, "I read that you got kidnapped by some human trafficker and that you testified at a trial."

"Several of them actually," C.J. said, "The first when I was pregnant with you…and just after I married your father."

Gracie frowned.

"That was daddy's friend wasn't it…the man on trial, the man you put away."

C.J. nodded.

"Yeah I did….we both testified along with many other people," she said, "the trial lasted nearly a year."

"What was it like?"

C.J. rubbed her forehead.

"It was like reliving it all over again…feeling everything I felt when it happened but…it also helped me come to terms with it…so I could move ahead with the life I was building with your father."

Gracie bit her lip, clearly digesting her words.

"And they all went to prison….didn't they?"

C.J. nodded again.

"The ones who lived to be brought to trial," she said, "and they were put away honey…they can't hurt anyone else."

Gracie nodded, her face looking very serious.

"Good…but...it didn't change what happened did it?"

C.J. paused.

"No it didn't….nothing can do that."

Gracie pursed her lips as her hands began stroking her gelding's neck again and watching her, C.J. saw a shadow of herself with her own mare. The one who had stood patiently, a solid rock of muscle to lean against when she needed to do that, ears that pricked up when she spilled her secrets including about her crush on a certain neighborhood boy…nothing beat having a good horse in your corner. Except….

"The man…the one who kidnapped you…he raped you didn't he?"

C.J. felt a bit of the bile rise up in her throat, the part of it that remained that never went away. Her hand resting against the top of the stall door tensed.

"Yes…he did honey…"

Gracie remained silent after hearing that news for a moment.

"Were you scared?"

C.J.'s eyes stung a bit as she nodded.

"Very scared….most of the time…but I got away from him and your father found me."

Gracie took a deep breath still focused on her horse then she turned her face to look at her mother.

"Why didn't Daddy stop it," she said, "Where was he when that man took you?"

C.J. sighed.

"He was away…he needed to go away for a while…it had nothing to do with us…just something he needed to do and that's when it happened."

"Because the man knew daddy wasn't there?"

C.J. nodded.

"But your daddy returned and never stopped looking until he found me at the ranch in Colorado and we found our way back…with our friends."

"The man died didn't he?"

"Yes he did….he can't hurt anyone anymore," C.J. said, "so we're all safe."

"I wish you'd told me…."

C.J. bit her lip.

"I know you do…but you're a young girl Gracie…and…"

Her daughter spun around her eyes flashing.

"I'm not a baby…I could have handled it…the truth rather than what's not true…that there's no bad things out there."

C.J. touched Gracie's shoulder but she flinched.

"Honey there are bad things out there….but there's much more that's good and you can't focus on what's not…or you'll miss out on so much."

Gracie folded her arms.

"Then why didn't you say anything," she said, "I had to read about my own parents online…my friends probably knew before I did."

"I know it's a lot to take in but we wanted to wait until you were a little older…"

"How much older do I have to be….," Gracie said, "to know the truth about what's going on in my own family?"

"Gracie…"

Then they both heard footsteps and saw Danny walking towards them, looking like he knew he had walked into something.

"Dinner's ready…they're going to take the kids out soon."

C.J. nodded and Gracie walked past her to head out with Danny, and she just shook her head, knowing it could have gone better than it did.

Matt watched as Gracie left the barn with Danny and they headed to a table where some of their friends were getting their food before heading to a table. He saw C.J. leave the barn and head towards where Chris sat with Stephanie feeding her some mashed vegetables. Her daughter's arms reached for her and C.J. swept her up before sitting next to Chris, while Stephanie returned to eating on her own with her fingers.

"So some party isn't it?"

C.J. smiled and looked up at her husband who brought a plate of food for her along with his own. He sat across from her and she smiled at his burger piled high with chili and onions.

"It's really turning out well," she said, "When we said we'd do it this year, we weren't sure we could handle it but the kids look like they're having a great time."

Matt looked out where Ethan and Royal were sitting with their friends laughing and eating their burgers. Gracie sat with Danny and a couple of their friends at another table.

"I told Gracie...well not all of it but parts."

Matt and Chris looked at her.

"How'd she take it," Chris asked, "I know she and Danny were busy on the computer a couple times doing some kind of research."

C.J. nodded.

"Yeah they were looking us up…what happened….so when she asked me, I told her about the kidnapping and the trial…she listened but she's a little upset."

"Angry?"

C.J. looked over at Chris.

"No…nothing like that…she just doesn't understand why it took her so long to find out about it."

"Well you know how it is with teenagers," Chris said, "They think they're old enough to handle anything but I think she'll understand why you did when she has time to think about it."

"I hope so….I know she's growing up and she's smart and she's tough…but I just wanted her to hold onto her youth a while longer…"

Matt sipped his apple cider.

"I think she'll be okay," he said, "Sometimes she just needs some time alone to sort things out…like someone else I know."

C.J. smiled at her husband.

"I know…I'll talk to her later…and if she has questions…I'll find a way to answer them."

Matt reached his hand out to caress hers with his fingers while looking at her.

"If you want…I can talk to her…"

C.J. sighed.

"Okay…."

Suddenly Royal ran up to the table and Matt looked up at his son.

"What's going on partner?"

Royal's face looked excited.

"There's someone by the gate…Butterfly saw him and she went to go talk to him."

Matt looked up at Dan who had just joined them.

"What he look like?"

Royal shrugged.

"He's tall…dark hair and a beard."

Matt got up looking at the others.

"I'd better go check this out…maybe it's a salesman."

Dan nodded.

"I'll join you…"

Both Chris and C.J. watched their husbands took off at a quick page.

"I wonder what they're up to," Chris mused, "they seem in a hurry."

C.J. wondered that too but didn't say anything, but she felt her instincts hone, causing the hair on the back of her neck to prickle.


	4. Chapter 4

Matt and Dan walked quickly up to the man who stood at the gate. He looked up at them and smiled.

"Who are you," Matt asked.

"I'm a reporter for the Houston Star-Ledger and I'm here to ask you about how you feel about the release of Scott Prescow's book."

Matt clenched his jaw.

"We're busy here trying to forget about that for a little while."

"It's Halloween right, well this won't take long, is your wife here?"

Dan stepped forward.

"Like he said, he's not interested in talking to you right now."

The reporter tilted his head.

"It might be of interest if you were to know that Prescow received death threats against him not long after he went to the halfway house. They just moved him an hour ago to another more secured facility."

Matt rubbed the back of his neck.

"Couldn't happen to a nicer guy."

The reporter leaned forward.

"Is that a quote on what your opinion is on his book?"

Matt just shot him a look.

"No comment…"

"Do you know who's trying to kill him?"

Matt folded his arms.

"No…I don't and even if I did, I'd tell the feds not a local reporter."

The man seemed to digest that and nodded.

"Okay Mr. Houston I can tell you're not going to be easy…but what about your wife?"

"What about me?"

The three men looked behind them to see C.J. approach along with Chris.

"What's going on here Houston?"

Matt looked over at her.

"He's just a reporter writing about Scott's new book isn't that right?"

The reporter nodded.

"And about the threats to his life," he said, "but your husband won't tell me what he knows."

C.J.'s eyes narrowed at her husband.

"What's this about…someone tried to kill him?"

Matt's eyes moved to the reporter.

"Well he got very specific threats and they have to move him," the reporter said, "They won't say who from so I thought I'd ask Matt here."

C.J. looked at her husband but didn't say anything. Matt just looked at him weighing his response.

"I'm not going to tell you anything for your article so you'd best leave now okay?"

The reporter just looked at him and then nodded.

"I'll do that but if you have anything information I'll just give you my card…"

Before the reporter could reach for it, Matt shook his head.

"I've got nothing to say," he said, "now we've got a party to get back to now."

The reporter left to go back to his car and C.J. turned back to face Matt and Dan. She folded her arms which told Matt he wasn't going to get away easily.

"What was that about Houston," she said, "Who's trying to kill Scott?"

Matt looked over at Dan.

"We don't know…but someone left something in the mailbox about it."

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"When were you going to tell me about that Houston?"

"After the party…I did leave a message for Jonathan about it."

C.J. didn't look too happy with that answer. She just closed her eyes for a moment.

"Houston I can handle this…I've handled a lot that's been going on in our lives since…I don't think I need to be kept in the dark do you?"

He shook his head.

"Honey that wasn't what I was trying to do," he said, "I just wanted you to enjoy and have a good time at the party for a little while. This person isn't after you or us."'

"No, he wants to get at Scott and what does he want, our blessing?"

Matt considered what the mysterious messenger might have wanted when he left that information in the mailbox.

"I don't know C.J. Without knowing who delivered it…"

She rubbed her forehead.

"It has to be the other guy."

Matt wondered about that two…the third partner in the human trafficking operation that they had helped break up over a decade ago.

"The spider was the symbol that he left…"

C.J.'s eyes widened.

"Yes… I remember him. He's the one who got away by going underground…he must think that Scott's going to write about him in his book."

Matt nodded.

"And maybe give off clues to where he might be holed up," he said, "I imagine if he wanted to be found, he would have left a calling card during the past 10 years."

They began to walk with Dan back to the party where the others ate and laughed as if they hadn't left. Matt and C.J. went back to the table where Chris sat with Stephanie on her lap while Dan went to round up the kids to go trick or treating.

"I think I'm going to help out Dan," Matt said, "You staying here?"

C.J. nodded.

"We'll get things set up for the ghost stories while you guys take the kids."

Matt smiled.

"I'll get Gracie to come with me," he said, "Might give us some time to talk."

"Yeah…good idea."

Matt got up after scooping up his youngest daughter and C.J. watched him head towards Gracie and ask her to go with him. C.J. knew that her oldest daughter loved spending time with her father and she watched her say something to Danny and they all started to gather the kids to gather their bags and take off.

Chris watched them too as Dan corralled their kids.

"I remember when I was that age," she said, "Growing up on a farm, it was always my favorite holiday especially when they built mazes in the corn fields and used to scare us when we walked through them…well maybe not that part of it."

"Houston and I used to go out to parties too…when we were growing up."

Chris leaned forward.

"So what was that all about…at the gate."

C.J. shrugged.

"A reporter wanting to know what we thought about Scott's new book," she said, "You know someone threatened to kill him."

Chris' eyes widened.

"Really…though that's to be expected considering the people that he burned….in the trafficking industry."

C.J. rubbed her forehead.

"I thought about it so many times. What it'd be like to just kill him. I thought of the different ways to do it…"

"You did…"

C.J. nodded.

"Yeah I did….but that was back before I had even begun to deal with what happened to me."

"Yeah well I don't think anyone would blame you for that."

"I guess not, but it took a long time to move past that."

Chris looked at her with a grim smile.

"But you did…and he did get locked up for a while."

C.J. sighed trying to divorce herself from that part of it. She'd been told in the very beginning years ago that there would be little controlling Scott's ultimate fate including his prison sentence.

"Yeah and now he gets out, wants to promote his book and someone else wants to kill him now."

"So who is it?"

C.J. brushed a tendril of her hair back.

"It must be someone else in the trafficking business," she said, "Maybe the third partner, Lucian. After all, there was a spider and that's was his brand."

Chris looked unnerved and C.J. couldn't blame her. Lucian had been just as amoral and merciless as his partners even if he'd never been located in all these years.

"Do you think he'll kill Scott?"

C.J. sighed again.

"He could…if he's like the others and had help inside our federal agencies."

She remembered how long it had taken to rid the U.S. Marshal's office and FBI of moles in their midst. Successfully planted inside the highest levels of both organizations by the other traffickers, the ones who had been partnered with Lucian. Still…nothing would surprise her anymore.

"Would it be so bad if he did?"

C.J. had struggled with her feelings on that issue for a long time but as evil as Scott had proven to be, if they succeeded in wiping him out, it would be a sign that the trafficking ring they had struggled to bring down was reemerging from the shadows.

"I don't want any of them to be powerful again."

Gracie looked at her father carrying her sister, her head moving around to catch all the activity around her. She might be too young to understand what was going on but it wouldn't always be that way. And someday she would have to learn the truth about their parents just like Gracie.

How quickly the world could change from what you thought you knew.

"Dad…"

Matt looked at her and saw her face lined with concern, though it reminded him of someone else at her age.

"Why didn't you or mom tell me what happened?"

Matt didn't answer right away because all his life he had wanted to protect his daughter, all his children and he'd realized by now that he could only do so much, but how to tell his children beginning with the eldest; he still struggled with the information. But he knew that Gracie wanted the truth.

"Gracie…we wanted to wait until you were a bit older."

Her eyes flashed at him.

"I'm old enough…besides I know most of it…from reading online."

Matt sighed, because he knew that left her knowing hardly any of it because while the factual narrative built over the years might be there, so much of the experience that had shaped both of their lives remained missing.

"I wanted to hear from you….and mom….my parents."

They both kept an eye on the group of kids and other adults as they walked down the dirt road leading to a couple other ranches. A chill filled the air and Gracie shivered as she saw the shadows dance off road.

"Your mother and I…we knew that you'd have questions," Matt said, "but though it's been a while, it's still not easy for your mom to talk about."

Gracie brushed a tendril of hair off of her face.

"Because of what that man did," she said, "The one who's dead."

Matt knew that the truth was even more complicated than what Gracie knew but he had to start somewhere. The rest…it could wait.

"Yes…he's dead and he can't hurt anyone else."

Gracie nodded; hearing the seriousness in her father's voice but it reassured her rather than brought her fear. Matt looked at her.

"Gracie you know your mother and I…we'd never let anything happen to you," he said, "Everything's fine now."

Gracie pursed her lips in thought.

"So is it true," she said, "Did you really kidnap mom?"

Matt paused a while remembering back to those desperate months during very different times.

"No…I didn't."

"I saw the warrant online…they accused you of kidnapping."

"Your mother was in hiding….at Aunt Thea's ranch and the bad men…they found her at the same time I did."

"You found her?"

Matt nodded.

"I never stopped looking for her once I knew she disappeared," he said, "but when I found her, the bad men did too but we escaped."

Gracie furrowed her brow processing that information.

"Okay but why did you run away from the good men," she said, "You know the police."

Matt paused again.

"Because some of them weren't good Gracie," he said, "Some of the police were bad men set up there to get your mom and I wasn't about to let that happen."

"So you ran away so even the good men couldn't find you."

Matt nodded.

"Yes…we had friends help us," he said, "I had lost your mom…I wasn't about to lose her again…not ever."

Gracie bit her lip as they watched the group of kids walk up to a nearby house decorated with jack o lanterns.

"Was she safe with you?"

Matt nodded again.

"Yeah….but it was hard for her to feel safe with everything that she'd been through," he said, "It took a long time for her to feel that way again…even afterward."

Gracie tilted her face at him.

"Even after you came back home?"

Matt didn't know how to sum up everything that happened in few words. The journey they thought might end with the death of Andre had only really begun its most difficult part.

"Yeah…but I love your mom so much she was never going to be alone."

Gracie smiled, because she knew that her parents loved and were in love no matter what had happened. Before she knew what had happened, she knew that about them.

Matt settled his hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"You know bad things did happen…and I'd do anything to have stopped them," he said, "but the years we've spent since then have been the best part of my life that I wouldn't trade for anything."

Gracie felt her eyes sting though she'd never admit it. She absently brushed some hair out of her face.

"Family's the most important thing Gracie…"

She nodded knowing that because her parents had spent her life showing her that in every way possible. Even when she'd clashed with them for some reason that seemed important at the time, she knew they loved her and her siblings.

Images of her life from the time she'd been a small child had been filled with that love and protectiveness. She looked away from her father and saw Danny heading towards her holding the hand of his younger brother and she smiled as she went to meet him.

Matt watched her and then looked at the younger daughter he held in his embrace as her eyes took in the world around her. Soon enough, she'd be walking and then running. In a couple years, he'd be holding her hand taking her out on Halloween too….just like he'd done with Gracie not so long ago.

He watched Danny and Gracie interact in the easy going way that seemed so familiar to him with a smile remembering way back when.


	5. Chapter 5

Matt returned to the bedroom where C.J. sat reading, after tucking Stephanie into bed. She had been nodding off against him by the time they had finished trick or treating and headed back to the ranch. But she wanted to stay up for the storytelling done in dramatic fashion by the two ranch hands, Bo and Lamar in the barn. After everyone had gotten their freshly baked cookies and apple cider from the kitchen first.

C.J. looked up at him when he entered the room and smiled.

"Was she out like a light?"

"Nearly…it's been a long day."

She put her magazine down and nodded, patting the bed for him to join her. Not that he needed much inviting. They sat together, shoulder to shoulder relaxing after a long day into night. Gracie had spent the last hours of the party hanging with Danny and Butterfly checking out the footage from Butterfly's camcorder. Matt knew that his oldest daughter still had a lot of questions but she seemed to have accepted what her parents told her, at least for now. But she clearly hadn't closed the book on the subject.

Neither had the media, not with Scott out of prison and touting his tell-all book. Details that had been so painful and personal would spill out once again against their wishes. Outside of their control just as it had been most of the time.

He took one of her hands in his own and wrapped his other around it. She looked over at him, so beautiful as she'd always been since he'd known her.

"It's going to be okay."

She nodded slowly and then smiled.

"I know it…because we're a family and family sticks together through anything."

Matt caressed her scarred knuckles with his own deft fingers.

"Yes we do…no matter what."

She moved closer to him and he wrapped one arm around her.

"I just wish Scott would let it go," she said, "and build a life without messing with ours."

Matt sighed, hearing the wistful tone in her voice but knowing that with an egomaniac like his former friend, that wasn't going to happen. Scott really seemed to believe he was the wronged party in this situation and that he deserved some form of reparations for his time spent in prison.

"If he keeps up the publicity, someone's going to kill him."

C.J. glanced over at her husband.

"Yeah…you're right about that," she said, "After all, they never did dig up Lucian… and if he thinks that Scott's book might expose him…"

Then Scott's time on the earth might not be much longer. Matt couldn't think of a better guy it could happen too, not that he condoned vigilantism but he'd come pretty close to the edge of doing it himself. Especially when a family member had been threatened or the woman next to him, well Gracie had asked him if he'd kidnapped C.J. He'd do anything to keep her safe from harm, not that he had always succeeded but while Scott was running at the mouth and Lucian was in the shadows, he'd step up the security once again.

Just enough to protect the family, not enough to make them feel they were giving anything up that they had built for themselves and their kids.

"I'm sure he'll just be waiting and if Scott crosses that line, he's as good as dead."

C.J. wondered if Matt would be relieved if anything happened to him but then thought, no because if Lucian took out Scott, he might decide to go after others on his list.

"Are we going to have to get more security?"

Matt looked at her for a long moment, reading the old concerns etched on her face and then shook his head.

"No…we've got enough and maybe the feds can convince Scott to back off and go crawl in a hole somewhere."

"Good luck with that."

Matt couldn't disagree with her assessment.

"I guess we'll find out soon enough."

She sighed while leaning against him and he knew she wasn't happy with the latest developments but she always knew to be grateful for all the good in their lives. The life they'd built together from the ashes. Even with all the tragedy, it had been good to them.

"I love you, you know."

He smiled at her and tightened his hold on her in response.

Gracie sighed as she stood by her bedroom window looking out into the darkness. She remembered what Danny had told her that parents could do all kinds of craziness but in the end, they still loved you. She knew that the earlier experiences that had shaped his life surrounding his early illness still resonated within him.

But…even though she knew her parents had been honest with her about the secrets they kept, questions still lingered inside her. She knew she had to work to find her own answers especially if what she had overheard her parents say in the kitchen was true, that someone from the past they had closed the door on would swing it back open again. Would they be ready for that, and would she?

If that day would come.

The End


End file.
